Men’s basketball looks to rebound from UMass loss at home vs. Harvard

The Boston University men’s basketball team will look to put an ugly loss to the University of Massachusetts Amherst behind it when it returns to Case Gym to play Harvard University on Tuesday night.

Tuesday’s game will be the first at home for the Terriers (3-4) since a Nov. 16 victory against the University at Albany, as they have just completed a five-game road trip. The trip led to mixed results, as BU lost three of the five contests. The Terriers’ last loss was a 99-69 defeat to the Minutemen (5-2) in which UMass connected on 13 3-point shots and finished 38-of-69 from the field.

With the longest road trip of the year now over, BU coach Joe Jones is more than relieved to be back playing in front of the home crowd.

“I don’t know how they feel but I’m excited, I know that,” Jones said. “Honestly, I think it’s great for us to be able to get home in front of our fans, to have the chance to sleep in our own beds and go play a game, it’s great.”

Another positive sign for the Terriers is that junior guards Cedric Hankerson, who missed the team’s first six games with an ACL injury, and Eric Fanning, who was out for the start of the season due to suspension, logged some minutes against the Minutemen. The duo combined for only 17 minutes, but chipped in 13 points on 3-for-10 shooting in the blowout loss.

Hankerson and Fanning, who were the top two scoring options for the Terriers last year, will provide a big boost for Jones’ program when it takes on the Crimson (2-6). Through seven games, BU has a scoring margin of minus-5.7 points, fifth in the Patriot League.

The return of the offensive playmakers will also offset the loss of freshman guard Kyle Foreman, who missed the game against UMass due to an ankle injury.

The Terriers will play one game at home against Harvard before heading out on another three-game road trip. After earning a 22-8 record and reaching the NCAA Tournament last season, the Crimson have stumbled out of the gate so far, having lost their last three games.

“First of all, they’re not as experienced as they have been in the past, but they have some really talented players,” Jones said. “I think their biggest thing right now is their lack of experience, and once they get a little more experienced, they can be very good.”

The Crimson should not be taken lightly, as they have held their opponents to 37 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent shooting from behind the arc. Harvard is led by the duo of forward Zena Edosomwan and guard Tommy McCarthy, who are averaging 13.1 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.

“One thing I always like about [Harvard coach] Tommy Amaker’s teams is they play very hard and have a lot of pride in what they do,” Jones said. “They’re not an overly complicated team, but they’re very effective because they stay within what they do on both ends of the floor, and they’re very consistent with what they’re doing. They have very good coaching within their program, and I think that’s what makes them very good.”

Edosomwan, a 6-foot-9 big man, tends to do most of his scoring in the paint, and he makes 53 percent of his shots. He also pulls down 9.8 rebounds per game.

On the other hand, McCarthy has excelled on offense thanks to a .341 3-point field goal percentage and a .857 free throw percentage. The different skillsets of the two players will provide Jones with a challenge in Tuesday’s matchup.

“I think the biggest thing for us is that not only do we have to control their scorers, but we also have to make sure we get out on the 3-point shooters,” Jones said. “They have a lot of guys that can shoot the three, and I think it’s a balance of containing them inside and also containing those 3-point shooters. It’s one of those things where we probably have to adjust our defenses in order to deal with how they attack.”